Atlantic Hockey facts for kids
Atlantic Hockey is a special group, also known as a conference, where college and university teams play hockey against each other. It's a men's Division I conference, which means it's part of the highest level of college sports in the United States, organized by the NCAA. Teams in Atlantic Hockey compete every year to win their conference championship and earn a chance to play in the national NCAA tournament.
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What is a College Hockey Conference?
A sports conference is like a league where several teams agree to play against each other regularly. This helps them decide who is the best team among them. In college hockey, conferences like Atlantic Hockey organize games, keep track of scores, and hold a championship tournament at the end of the season. The winner of the conference tournament often gets an automatic spot in the bigger national championship.
Teams in Atlantic Hockey
Over the years, many different colleges and universities have been part of Atlantic Hockey. Here are some of the teams that have played in this exciting conference:
- United States Air Force Academy (often called "Air Force")
- American International College
- United States Military Academy (known as "Army")
- Bentley University
- Canisius College
- University of Connecticut (also known as "UConn")
- College of the Holy Cross
- Mercyhurst College
- Niagara University
- Robert Morris University
- Rochester Institute of Technology (often called "RIT")
- Sacred Heart University
Changes in the Conference
Sometimes, teams decide to move to a different conference. For example, the University of Connecticut (UConn) left Atlantic Hockey in July 2014. They joined another well-known hockey conference called Hockey East. Interestingly, UConn's women's hockey team was already playing in Hockey East before the men's team moved. These changes happen when schools feel a different conference might be a better fit for their sports programs.
See also
In Spanish: Atlantic Hockey para niños
